Door-closer.



P. C. RICHTER,

I DOOR CLOSER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26, 19H}.-

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

TINIE STATES AFT FFIQEQ PAUL G. RICHTER, 0F STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE YALE & TOWNE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

DOOR-CLOSER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Application filed August 26, 1918. Serial No, 251,453.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL C. RICHTER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- Closers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in door closers having means for normally holding the door in open position, and particularly to means for releasing the door holding means in the event of a fire, so that the door will then automatically close and assist in preventing the spread of the fire by cutting off the draft and confining the fire to the room in which it started.

With this object in view my invention consists in the parts and combination of parts and in the details of construction as will be more fully explained and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in section of a portion of a door closer showing my improvement applied to the same. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the lever arm. Fig. 3 is a view in transverse section through the spring, lever arm and chair. Fig. 4: is a view of one member of the chair holding device, and Figs. 5 and 6 are views of the chair.

My improvement is designed for use with door closers or with combined checks and closers, hence I would have it understood that I do not limit its use to either or to any particular type of either, and by the term door check used in this specification, I intend to include combined checks and closers.

'10 represents the casing of a door closer and 11 is the spindle of the same to which the lever arm 12 is secured, the said lever arm being adapted for cooperation with the mechanism of the door closer and with the door in the usual and well known manner.

For the purpose of holding the door open,

the lever arm 12 is provided with a spring pressed dog 13 and the cap of the door closer is provided with an upwardly projecting stop orrib 14 which is engaged by the lower beveled end of the dog when the door is in its open position, the dog riding over the stop or rib during the opening movement of the door and dropping behind the same when the door is fullyopen, the pressure of the spring bearing against the dog being sufficient un der normal conditions, to prevent the latter from rising out of engagement with the stop. The dog 13 is mounted to move vertically in the lever arm 12 and is provided with a chisel or beveled lower end to engage the stop 14, and with a head which limits its downward movement and against which the free end of the long flat spring 15 bears. The head may be provided with a rib formed on its top surface to enter a slot in the spring to prevent the dog from turning in its seat, but any equivalent means may be employed for holding the flat beveled lower end of the dog in a position to properly engage the side of the stop 14. r

The spring 15 is secured at its other end to the post 17 which latter passes upwardly through the lever arm 12, the end of the post being preferably riveted to the spring. The

post 1s driven friction tight into the lever arm, and its lower end is reduced to enter a hole in one member of the two part chair holding member 19. This member 19 is made of two plates shaped as shown in Fig.

4, one of the plates having a hole to receive the lower end of the post 17 and the other plate having a hole to receive an end of the chair 20, the two plates of the chair holding member being of lengths sufficient to overlap as shown in Fig. 1, and are secured togetherby a fusible alloy which melts at a comparatively low temperature.

The chair is somewhat in the form of an inverted U with one of its side members longer than the other, and it normally rests against the under side of the lever arm 12 with its side members projecting downwardly. The shorter arm or side member 21 0f the chair 20 is bifurcated for the passage of the screw bolt 22, and the free end of the said member forms the seat for the head of the; screw bolt, a washer 23 being preferably cient to melt the solder or alloy holding the two members of the chair holding member 19 together, the two parts of the said memher will separate thus releasing the chair 20 and permitting it to rock or turn under the upward pull on the screw bolt and drop away from the latter thus permitting the bolt to move upwardly under the action of the spring 15. This releases the pressure of the spring 15 on the head of the dog 13 and leaves the latter free to be forced upwardly and over the rib by the tension of the spring of the door check which then closes the door. Normally the tension of spring 15 is suflicient to prevent the dog from riding over the stop 14, but when the screw is released by the separation of the parts of the chair holding member, the tension of the spring 15 is wholly withdrawn from the head of the dog, or so reduced tlnt the door closing spring will, by its closing action, cause the dog to ride over the lug and thus close the door.

I prefer to indent the two parts of the chair holding member 19 at two or more points as shown in order to assist in retaining the two members in contact up to the time the alloy holding them together has been wholly fused or melted, and thus prevent a premature release of the door closer-by a heat that might soften the solder without actually melting it.

I have referred to the stop as being on the top of easing of the check and the dog as riding upwardly over the stop, but it is evident that the apparatus might be used in an inverted position, in which event the spring when released would fall away from the dog and the latter drop by gravity away from the stop.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters-Patent, is:

1. The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog mounted in said lever arm and engaging the stop for holding the door open, a spring bearing at one end against the dog for yieldingly holding the latter against movement, means engaging the other end of the spring for fixedly securing it to the lever arm, a bolt engaging the spring intermediate its ends for adjusting its tension, 21 support for said bolt, and fusible means for holding said support in position.

2. The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog mounted in said lever arm and engaging the stop for holding the door open, a spring bearing at one end against the dog for yieldingly hold ing it against movement, means for permanently and rigidly securing the other end of the spring to the lever arm, a bolt passing through the lever arm and engaging the spring intermediate its ends for adjusting the tension of the spring, a movable support for holding the bolt in position and the spring under tension, and fusible means for holding said support in position.

The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog mounted in the lever arm and engaging the stop for holding the door open, a spring bearing against the dog for yieldingly holding it in place, means securing the spring to the lever arm, a bolt for holding the spring under tension, and a two part device held together by a fusible alloy for holding the bolt in its normal position and for releasing the bolt when the alloy melts.

4. The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog carried by the lever arm, a spring secured at one end to the latter and hearing at its other end against the dog, a screw bolt passing through the lever arm and spring for adjusting and holding the latter under tension, and fusible means for normally holding the bolt against movement and for releasing it to release the spring when the surrounding temperature reaches a predetermined point.

5. The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog carried by the lever arm, a spring secured to the lever arm and engaging the dog, a bolt passing upwardly through the lever arm and spring and provided with a nut bearing on the spring, and a device supported by the head of the bolt and bearing against the underside of the lever arm, the said device being made of a plurality of parts held together by a fusible alloy.

6. The combination of a door closer hav ing a stop, a lever arm, a dog carried by the lever arm and engaging the stop, a spring secured to the lever arm, a bolt passing through the lever arm and spring for holding the latter under tension, a device engaging the head of the bolt for holding the latter against the action of the-spring, 110 and a device composed of a plurality of parts held together by fusible means for securing said holding device in place.

7 The combination. of a. door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog carried by 115 the lever arm and engaging the stop, a spring secured to the lever arm and bearing against the dog, a bolt passing upwardly through the lever arm and spring, a nut on the bolt for adjusting the tension of the 129 spring, a device seated against the under side of the lever and forming a support for the head of the bolt, and a device composed of two parts held together by a fusible alloy for movably holding said bolt head sup- 125 porting device in position.

8. The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog carried by the lever arm and engaging the stop, a spring secured to the lever arm and bean 0 ing against the upper end of the dog, a bolt passing'through the lever arm and spring, a nut on the bolt for adjusting the tension of the spring, a device bearing against the underside of the lever arm and forming a support for the head of the bolt and "a two part device secured together by a fusible alloy, one of said parts being rigidly secured to the lever arm and the other to the bolt head supporting device, whereby when the two parts are released by the melting of the alloy thepart attached to the bolt head supporting device will be free to drop and thus release the bolt. 1

9. The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog carried by the lever arm and engaging the stop, a spring secured at one end to the lever arm and hearing at its other end against the head of the dog, a bolt passing upwardly through the lever arm and through the spring and carrying a nut, a member forming a support for the head of the bolt the said member having a rocking bearing on the lever arm, and a sectional device for holding said supporting member against movement, the sections of said member being secured together by a fusible alloy.

10. The combination of a door closer having a stop, a lever arm, a dog carried by the lever arm and engaging the stop, a spring secured at one end to the lever arm, a bolt passing upwardly through the lever arm and spring, a nut on the bolt for adjusting the tension of the spring, a U-shaped member bearing against the underside of the lever arm, the free end of one arm of said member forming a seat for the head of the bolt, and a two part device, one part of which is secured to the lever arm and the other part to the other arm of the U shaped member for holdin the latter in place, the two parts of sai device being soldered together.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribmg Witnesses.

PAUL G. RICHTER. Witnesses CHARLES A. BERRY, EARL STUDWELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

